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World War I
World War I was a war that changed the battlefield tactics prominent during the 19th century, providing a testing ground for new military tactics and technology. It was started by a loose web if alliances all over Europe due to the growing power of certain European countries and the fear of those countries invading and devastating each other leads nations to seek the upper hand by strength in numbers. This growing power was due in part to the increase in military technology and availability of equipment provided by the Industrial Revolution. Short Summary WWI was started when the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian, Gavrilo Princip, who was displeased with the archduke's policy of ignoring Bosnia's cry for independence form Austria. Angered by the assassination and eager for a excuse to claim Serbia as well as Bosnia for Austria, the Austrian government declares war on Austria, setting off a string of alliances that pits Russia, France, and Britain against Austria, Germany, and the Ottoman empire. Germany launches a preemptive strike against the French and pushes them back a few miles from the previous border between France and Belgium, ending in a stalemate that ultimately results in trenches being dug on opposing sides of the battlefield; this results in ways being devised to bring the soldiers out of the trenches by utilizing technology not used in a major battlefield before, such as: mustard gas, machine guns, tanks, airplanes, and rail cannons. Eventually, after years of fighting, Russia backs out of the war after the Russian Revolution(1917) and the United States joins in the same year due to offenses committed by the Germans against the U.S. to gain allies. One of these offense was a telegram to Mexico promising their land lost in the Mexican-American War back if they declare war on the United States; this telegram was discovered by American intelligence and they declared war on Germany, tired of their antics against America. Now with the United States on their side, the Allies, using the fresh resources and troops, push back against the German threat with increased vigor and strength, refreshed by the Americans recent entry after the war. The entry of the United States allows for the development of the tank, which was a major way of getting past the no-man's land between trenches successfully and overwhelming the enemy. The Allies eventually push the Germans back to Germany in 1918 and a cease fire is called,; talks began on a treaty to end the war, with Germany as the only nation left in the war that belonged in the Central Powers. With no one else to put the blame on, the European Allies frame Germany for the war and impose biased and restrictive conditions on Germany. Significance *World War One helped bring about the Russian Revolution, providing a testing ground for communism's effect on a large and extensive country *The Treaty of Versailles, what ended WWI, set the conditions for Hitler and his Nazi regime to rise to power, and ultimately cause World War II **war reparations too much to ask from Germany ***economy still recovering **all of the war blame placed on Germany * World War One allows the United States to become a dominant world power both economically and militarily *It ushers a new age of propaganda and advertisement for a government role of making the enemy seem inhuman and cruel and cheering up soldiers **songs **posters **political cartoons *disappearance of german, ottoman, and austrian empire **treaty of Versailles **either broken up into different countries or foreign lands taken away *First widely reported war **radio broadcasts **newspapers *League of Nations **predecessor of United Nations **place to discuss European politics *the "lost" generation **no hope **trying to define themselves after war **old values not all true, need to be reevaluated Tested Technologies/Methods * *Poison gas **gas mask-developed for protection **crowd deterrent *Military aircraft(airplanes)reconnaissance **use of weapons on it pioneered **blimps used to a small extent *Improved Artillery **some so large they had to be transported and fired on railroads *Trench Warfare **medical advances in understanding the role of the environment on the health of an individual ***trench foot ***gangrene *Tanks **Caterpillar tracks **armored plated **continues to be worked on after ***WWII ***modern warfare Category:World War I Category:Major Turning points